REINTERPRETING BAWA: THE ARTIST BEHIND THE NEW GEOFFREY BAWA FURNITURE COLLECTION

A glimmer of an idea is sometimes all it takes to ignite big projects. In 2014, artist Aparna Rao started a monthly catalogue of curated vintage objects. But what began as a modest hobby with co-founder Deepak Srinath is today Phantom Hands—a craft collective of nearly 100 artisans specialising in design-driven contemporary furniture.

Out of a workshop in Bangalore, the duo creates furniture collections that build on the heritage of craftsmanship and design in India and, more recently, Sri Lanka. Named as a homage to the legacy of past artisans, Phantom Hands are known for their reinterpretations of the modernist furniture made for the city of Chandigarh under the guidance of Swiss architect Pierre Jeanneret in the 1950s.

In 2023, Phantom Hands teamed up with the Geoffrey Bawa Trust to recreate a collection of interior pieces designed by Bawa’s architectural practice in the latter half of the 20th century. Working alongside Channa Daswatte, architect and Chair of the Geoffrey Bawa Trust, Rao, and Srinath, spent over 18 months researching and evolving 20 key pieces of furniture, lighting, and objects.

Rao and Srinath originally set out to create exact reproductions of Bawa’s designs, right down to replicating idiosyncratic craftsmanship and irregularities in measurements. In Rao’s opinion, however, this initial approach resulted in a furniture collection that felt disjointed and unfinished. The originals embodied the social and economic reality of the latter part of the 20th century in Sri Lanka. They were often designed to fulfil a practical need in a specific location and responded to the material and budget restrictions of the moment. But out of context, some of these design specifics seemed out of place.

So Rao and Srinath changed track and, together with Daswatte, they built a collection of reedited furniture that carefully adapts and alters Bawa’s designs to fit modern life and commercial production.  Since Bawa was tall, for example, some of the proportions and sizes of the furniture have been changed to give them more universal comfort. Additionally, fabrics have been made more durable and resilient to daily use, and pieces that were still prototypes during Bawa’s time have been further developed and finished. This process of adaptation is not one that was taken lightly, and while many of these changes appear almost indistinguishable from the original, every one of them has been adapted with care and thought.

After a recent debut at Milan Design Week 2025, the Geoffrey Bawa Collection pieces are now available for purchase through the Phantom Hands website. The collection is also on show at Bawa Space in Colombo through mid-June.

Rao will be speaking about the reinterpretation of Geoffrey Bawa’s designs at the Bawa Space at 7 pm on 27th May 2025. Visit the website for further details: geoffreybawa.com/events

The Bawa Space is located at 42/1 Horton Place, Colombo 07. Design in the Moment: Furniture by the Geoffrey Bawa Practice is open Wednesday through Sunday between 12 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. except major holidays. More information is available on geoffreybawa.com and phantomhands.in.